VTB Bank strengthens its financial position and focuses on friendly markets
The Russian state-owned bank VTB wants to significantly expand its activities in "friendly" countries while strengthening its capital reserves. By 2026, the bank aims to deal with 30 percent of Russian economic activities with these countries, twice as much as the initial target.
Strategic realignment
VTB is under pressure from its traditional sources of income. Net interest income fell by 43.8 percent in the first seven months of 2023 to 186.4 billion rubles (1.8 billion euros). To compensate for this decline, the bank is now focusing on revenue from commissions on transactions and currency conversions related to Russia's foreign trade flows.
The largest stock offering of the year
In order to strengthen its balance sheet, VTB has launched a secondary public offering (SPO) worth up to 93.4 billion rubles (938 million euros). This is the largest share issue in Russia since 2023. The offer is for approximately 1.26 billion ordinary shares, with a maximum target price of 73.9 rubles (0.74 euros) per share.
The proceeds will be used to strengthen the capital reserves and solvency ratios of VTB and the VTB Group as a whole. The Russian state does not participate in the process and retains a majority stake of more than 50 percent plus one share. (jv)
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